Time Magazine breast-feeding cover: Its art historical origins, and what makes the image so sensational
5/12/2012
Time Magazine’s sensational cover may have made a few subscribers squirm — and it’s ignited a fervent discussion about attachment parenting and breast-feeding. Beyond that, photographer Martin Schoeller’s image of 26-year-old mom Jamie Lynne Grumet breast-feeding her three-year-old son has inspired conversations about what makes a good cover, and what pushes the boundaries of taste.
Schoeller said in Time’s “Behind the Cover” article that he looked to religious imagery of the Madonna and Child for inspiration in creating this provocative contemporary image.
Pushing the boundaries is what makes a cover great, according to the Post’s visuals editor, David Griffin. He’s guided National Geographic and U.S. News & World Report in their cover designs previously, and was intrigued by Time’s arresting image.
“[A good cover] should always be what contemporary social norms can barely handle,” Griffin said. “My feeling is, you want to produce enough covers each year that people will remember you as a publication. When they look to renew, you risk the chance that they will forget about you.”